Rick Mirer, QB, 1989-92

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Sporting News reached out to several prominent Notre Dame alumni to gauge the pulse on Brian Kelly’s decision to interview for the head coaching job with the Philadelphia Eagles. Kelly is sticking around in South Bend—at least for now—but that doesn’t mean everyone in Irish Nation is happy with him.

“When looking at the bigger picture,” wrote former star center and 10-year Miami Dolphins stalwart Tim Ruddy in an e-mail, “it would seem Coach Kelly is simply using Notre Dame as a steppingstone to the NFL. I believe the Irish faithful expected more from him and were led to believe something entirely different from some of his past comments.”

Some theorize that Kelly used the Eagles to play Notre Dame for more money, perhaps not only for himself but for his assistant coaches.

“I would like to believe that he didn’t have an ulterior motive,” said former running back and Pittsburgh Steelers icon Rocky Bleier.

Bleier added a dig at Kelly’s predecessor, who renegotiated his contract after just one season at Notre Dame: “Unlike Charlie Weis, I’d like to think Coach Kelly has more character than that.”

“I don’t know what Coach Kelly’s ultimate dream is or ultimate job would be, but I hope the university doesn’t do a knee-jerk reaction after everything he has said about ‘this is my dream job’ and ‘what more can you ask for?’ "

“I really expected to see him back. He has too much of a good thing going. Recruiting is off the chain. Obviously, Notre Dame has the money to keep him. That said, I hope the A.D. tells him: ‘Next time you go and look for a job, you better hope you get it.’ Perception is reality, and Notre Dame is going to have to be careful how they handle this."

“This could just be about the experience of interviewing with an NFL team (and) getting that first time out of the way. … The only concern I would have is the public overreacting. People should be allowed to make their own decisions."

“Obviously this is not good for many reasons, maybe most of all recruiting, but there may be a deeper sense of betrayal as well. In the college locker rooms I’ve been around, there’s always a sense of “we”—coaches and players dedicated to the same goal, and to pursuing that goal until it’s accomplished. If the goal at Notre Dame is winning the national championship, as I feel it should be, then this type of behavior can seriously undermine the efforts of the coaches to get the current and future players to buy into the system.”